A satisfying fairy-tale nerd love story.
A small-town girl transforms a spoiled star in this third installment in the Once Upon a Con series.
High school senior Rosie Thorne loves the science-fiction space opera Starfield, connecting with her recently deceased mother through the old TV show, the newly rebooted movie series, and the tie-in novels. In real life, though, Rosie is struggling with her grief, her college essay, and the unwanted attentions of Gaston-stand-in Garrett Taylor. When Rosie’s unfortunate run-in with the town’s newest resident leads to her cataloging the library of an eccentric castlelike house, she also must deal with the beastly moods of Hollywood bad boy Vance Reigns, who is staying there. Seventeen-year-old co-narrator Vance is a self-proclaimed prisoner, exiled to North Carolina by his stepfather after filming the newest Starfield movie. Spoiled, sulky, and self-loathing, publicity-shy Vance fears that he’s irredeemable. Tying in 2017’s Geekerella and 2019’s The Princess and the Fangirl but expanding outside the enchanted bubble/fever-pitch world of conventions, Poston adds a dash more reality to this romance. The world of Starfield—initially, a Star Wars/Star Trek knockoff, with a rebel princess, too-good hero, and cocky bad boy—begs for a TV adaptation. Despite the setting, both Rosie and Vance are white; their sidekicks are more diverse, in gender, if not race; nonbinary Quinn is a scene stealer while Rosie’s bisexual, former-punk rocker, librarian dad is adorkable.
A satisfying fairy-tale nerd love story. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68369-193-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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